This course prepares students for the systematic study of human language. Drawing on data from a range of languages, it will examine the sound patterns of language (phonetics and phonology), words and word formation (morphology), sentence structure (syntax), meaning (semantics), and language in context (pragmatics). Emphasis will be placed on methods of linguistic analysis to solve problems in phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. Additional topics may include language acquisition; linguistic variation; and/or historical/comparative linguistics.